beer pong

If this isn't computer generated magic, then I'm impressed.

a bright future? i doubt it.

Yesterday I watched two little boys -- 10 or 11 years old -- walk out of the local Dolce & Gabbana store here. One of the boys was carrying a bag from the store his new purchase. In the bag? A pair of sunglasses. The price? I'm guessing several hundred dollars.

I suppose this boy's future is so bright that he needs a pair of D&G sunglasses to shade his young eyes.

got pirate problems? here's a solution...

got $2 million to spare? buy a new phone number!

From a weekend newspaper here. I'm curious to know which "charity" will be receiving these funds.


A phone number worth QR7.5m
Web posted at: 11/21/2008 1:48:10
Source ::: THE PENINSULA

DOHA: An easy-to-remember mobile phone number — 6000000 — was sold for QR7.5m ($2.06m) during an auction organised by Qatar Telecom (Qtel) on Wednesday.

The auction, held at the Four Seasons Hotel, was attended by a large number of people, mainly businessmen, who fancy owning easy-to-remember and unique numbers.

As many as 51 mobile phone numbers beginning with the digit six were offered for sale at the auction, according to a local Arabic daily.

The Subscriber Identity Module card for the number was handed over in a ceremony to the successful bidder, a national who requested his identity not be disclosed.

The number 6000002 attracted the second-highest bid of QR3.3m.

Several such auctions have been held by Qtel. The most notable was the auction held in May 2006, when the mobile phone number 6666666 was sold for QR10m ($2.75m), setting a world record for the most expensive mobile

phone number.

Funds collected from such auctions are donated to local charities.

cardio fitness tip #1: bring your maid and mercedes along

I am witness to some unusual sights while doing my regular run at a nearby sports complex. I follow a 5km running path that circles the entire property. Beyond this running path there are various streets that essentially form an even wider ring around the place.

This morning, joining me on the path, were two ladies walking very slowly. Discretion prevents me from describing them or their clothing any further. But I first noticed them when I spotted their maid (who I realized had been following behind them at a respectable distance) make a fast dash to a nearby Mercedes for what appeared to be an emergency water bottle.

Even in this culture, this came as a surprise to me. I know many of the young ladies in local colleges like to bring their maids to class with them to carry books, take notes, read answers to tests on secret cell phone headsets, etc. And of course every self respecting woman needs her maid along while shopping, to carry the bags, take the chocolate bar from the shelf and put it in the grocery cart, etc.

But today's sighting was something new altogether...bringing your maid along while exercising to fetch juice and cold towels.

About 25 minutes later I passed them again. These two gals were soldiering on...determined to get some exercise. The maid was, of course, dutifully plodding along behind them carrying more emergency water. And the Merecedes? It was inching (and I mean INCHING) along behind this trio on the ring road about 100 feet away.

warning: stay off elevators in Bahrain!

Bahrain wins this week's award for setting the bar to a new low for of the abuse of human and labor rights. Some days I wonder how low this bar can actually go before hitting the ground. But I'm sure before that ever happens, someone will hire a guy for 50 cents a day to dig a hole to China to ensure there's always more room below for that bar to go.


Workers survive 45-floor fall
Web posted at: 11/15/2008 5:45:27
Source ::: IANS

DUBAI: Eleven workers in Bahrain had a miraculous escape when an elevator they were asked to test in a newly constructed building fell 45 floors to the ground.

The workers were reportedly asked to act as human weights in the new elevator at a residential tower in Manama on Thursday when the incident occurred.

“The men were ordered to enter the elevator to be human weights to check if the elevator would hold their weight,” the Gulf Daily News quoted sources as saying. “Though they protested, it fell on deaf ears,” it added.

The men were later treated in a hospital for neck, back and leg injuries. A doctor at the Salmaniya Medical Complex said the workers were lucky to be alive.

Bahrain’s labour ministry as well as the lift contractor have launched separate investigations into the incident.I

high speed amboseli

My friend Paul just posted this little video clip on YouTube. He's calling it Amboseli Nitro and it was shot last month when we were camping and ballooning in Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya. At the end of our weekend, on our way out of the park, we took the off-road option across a dry lake bed. It was an wide open, empty space and we could drive as fast as we wanted. You can see me at the end, fiddling with my iPod, looking for some music. Good times.

ballsy indeed

I want to become a motivational speaker and use this for a speech title. Believe it or not, this photo is actually a real book cover. Love it!